Erie Community Foundation: Link to Learning Mini-Grants

Five years ago, The Erie Community Foundation recognized a need to support and enhance the work of Erie County teachers and early learning centers. These groups could benefit from small amounts of funding for their specific projects.

As a result, the Link to Learning Mini-grants started and have been very well received. Area schools and early learning centers are eligible for mini-grants up to $500 for projects that have a profound impact on students and hands-on classroom projects.

This year, the committee evaluated a total of 87 education mini-grant applications from 42 schools. After evaluations, 42 projects from 21 schools were recommended for funding. The proposals in 2010 did not lack for ingenuity and effective classroom methods. Some local projects include:

• The Help Them Tell Mom project at Belle Valley Elementary School provided a printer and camera for the preschool autistic support classroom. This allows the children who cannot verbalize to their parents what happened in school to now share photos of classroom activities.
• Students at Girard High School enhance both their physical education and their appreciation and respect of the outdoors with Fitness and Learning withGPS. Students will improve fitness levels through orienting activities and the popular activity of geocaching thanks to the new GPS unit.
• Middle school students with special needs at Perseus House Charter School will Bridge the Math Gap with new hands on mathematics learning tools. These tools include geometric tools, fraction games, and equation solving tools, all of which enable the students to move beyond concrete and into abstract mathematical thinking.
• The Owl Pellet Project at St. Peter Cathedral Center connects literature and science, as students will receive a copy of the novel Poppy by Avi after which the students will dissect owl pellets to learn about the life of animals in their environments.
• At Jefferson Elementary School, fifth grade students aim for Literacy Growth Through Peer Mentoring, to increase reading ability and comprehension. After exposing students to a variety of literary genres, students will complete a quarterly Reading Assessment of their peers.